1896 Baltimore Orioles Program

Extremely rare baseball program dating from the glory years of the legendary 1890s Baltimore Orioles. The colorful cover features a sepia portrait of Baltimore first baseman Jack Doyle surrounded by an illustrated game-in-progress scene and advertising for a number of local Baltimore establishments. A Pepsin Gum advertisement appears on the back cover. The four-page program commemorates a game played in Baltimore against the Philadelphia Phillies. Although undated, according to the Baltimore schedule printed on one of the interior pages, Philadelphia only visited Baltimore twice during the season. The first three-game series ran from June 18th through June 20th, while the second took place from September 19th through September 22nd. The preprinted lineups include Hall of Famers Joe Kelley, Willie Keeler, Hughie Jennings, and Wilbert Robinson for Baltimore, and Ed Delehanty and Sam Thompson for Philadelphia. The center score pages have not been scored. Baltimore captured their third consecutive National League pennant in 1896 and then continued their success in the postseason by sweeping the Cleveland Spiders four games to none in the Temple Cup. (The Temple Cup matched the National League's first and second place finishers in a best-of-seven postseason series to determine the World Champions.) One of the interior pages, which slightly overextends the length of the covers, displays a number of minor edge tears; otherwise the program (6 x 9 inches) is in Excellent condition overall. This is an exceptionally rare, substantial, and attractive program dating from Baltimore's first World Championship season of the decade. Reserve $300. Estimate $500/$1,000. SOLD FOR $1,293

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